Introducing fan blogger Paul Sherrill

Growing up in Houston as a baseball fan in the 70’s was kind of tough. The Oilers were all anyone cared about. All the kids at school had their Luv Ya Blue schwag and spent all their time talking about Earl, Dan, Bum and how much they hated the Steelers. Sure I watched some games, but it never really interested me. But baseball. Astros baseball. Man, that was it. Every chance I got I was watching a baseball game or listening to one on the radio. I tried to play a little, but never really had the skills. I could hit a bit, but couldn’t field to save my life. (I did do a mean J.R. Richard wind-up impersonation though.)

If it wasn’t for baseball I probably never would have opened a newspaper my whole life. When I was a kid (back in the days of newspapers, TVs with knobs, dinosaurs and no Internet) I would always make sure I snagged the sports section out of my mom’s paper every day when I got home from school. Reading box scores was usually the only time I got to find out what happened the night before since most games were on past my bed time. I’d make sure I didn’t hear the scores all day so I could read the recaps and box scores trying to visualize the whole game.

I’ve been a diehard Astros fan as long as I can remember. I had a few lag years while I was in High School since there were other more important pursuits to focus on at the time, but the Astros were always there. From Neikro, Sambito, Ryan, Smith, Walling, Thon, Scott, Doran, Ashby, Davis, and Cruuuuuuuuuuuuz to Bagwell, Biggio, Caminiti, Alou, Everett (both, but mainly Adam), Ausmus, Berkman, Bourn, and Pence, I’ve loved watching them all.

These days I spend the season reading as much as I can on Astros.com, the Chronicle, and following Footer and McT’s blog posts religiously. It doesn’t matter if they are winning or losing, I love watching the Astros. Though obviously the winning years are the best, but I’ve really been looking forward to this season to see all the new faces. Reminds me of when I got to watch Caminiti, Bagwell, and Biggio all get started. You never know who the next hall of famer will be.

I’m a little different than most fans though. For example, my favorite players have been Billy Doran, Adam Everett, and Ken Caminiti. Why? Because I love watching good fielders. Doran was just a beast around 2nd while Everett was simply astounding at SS. Cami may not have been the best third basemen around, but the first time I saw him make a close throw to 1st base I was hooked. What a cannon! Sure I love the hitting, but to me the real skill was the fielding. It killed me when we let Everett go. Sure I know he wasn’t exactly an offensive powerhouse, but he was such a joy to watch on the field. I was in the minority though. No one cares about the runs saved, it’s all about the runs created. I guess I’m a bit of a throwback then. I’d rather watch Ozzie Smith over Derek Jeter any day.

The bottom line is I’m a fan. An Astros fan. No matter what their record, who the GM is, or who the owner is, I’m gonna watch me some Astros. I’m the guy at your office that has random Astros schwag all over the office. I’m the guy that actually has enough Astros shirts to wear a different one every day of the week. I’m the guy that is constantly looking for any opening in a conversation to steer it towards the Astros then talks your ear off. The guy that knows all the players names, and how their season is going. The guy that everyone around knows is truly an Astros fanatic.